First, let me complain, yet again, about the nature of financial reporting. They are neck deep in dung, but they continue to look for a pony.

Cases in pointL

The the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing index rose to 48.6 from 48.3 in February, which while higher than the 47.5 anticipated is still a contraction. Any number below 50 is a contraction. The index is a derivative (the calculus type, not the financial type), with 50 being zero. 48.6 is still a trend down, and this should be the lede.

Then we have construction spending “falling less than expected“. Again, construction spending fell, and while the “consensus” was 0.9%, and it fell 0.3%, this isn’t news, unless you tell us who, or why the consensus was that number.

Grrrrr.

On the “economic news for the rest of us” front, we have predictions that 200,000 jobs will be eliminated in the banking sector, and the number of food stamp recipients has gone through the roof.

BTW, if you are wondering if the real estate collapse is just a locak phemenon, the answer is no. We are now seeing the beginnings of a real estate collapse in china, and the housing crunch has now moved to the Hamptons.

Shanghai and the Hamptons. When you look at the range covered, there ain’t much left outside of this.

In the world of currency, it appears that the dollar has had the biggest quarterly loss since Q4 2004. The ECB is concerned with inflation, and quite honestly is not experiencing the same sort of meltdown that the US is, so it’s holding rates steady, which strengthens the Euro.

Finally, we have banks writing down billions of dollars (here, and here) in various bad investments. The markets rewarded them today, but I think that this will get much worse before it gets any better.